STATEMENTS

Press Statement Judges must not abdicate their duty to uphold the rakyat’s fundamental freedoms 26 May 2018 Yesterday, the court of appeal dismissed PJ MP Maria Chin’s challenge on her travel ban on grounds that it is ‘academic’; despite the fact that a decision on whether such a travel ban is constitutional is of great…

Press Statement Three years on, the new government must investigate the Wang Kelian mass graves 26 May 2018 Lawyers for Liberty refers to the original expose on 25 May 2015 of the discovery of over 130 bodies in mass graves in Wang Kelian, Perlis believed to contain the remains of victims of human trafficking. Three years on, our…

Press Statement The new Communications Minister must investigate MCMC’s past misdeeds and restrict their powers 25 May 2018 Lawyers for Liberty wishes to congratulate Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo on his appointment and further supports his announcement that the Anti-Fake News Act 2018 would be repealed as well as investigating the controversial block on Malaysiakini’s live election…

Press Statement The Attorney-General, Chief Justice and President of the Court of Appeal must step down 24 May 2018 Lawyers for Liberty calls upon Apandi Ali, Md Raus Sharif, and Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin to step down immediately from their respective roles as Attorney-General, Chief Justice, and President of the Court of Appeal. It is obvious…

Press Statement Righting the wrongs of the past necessary for PDRM in the new Malaysia 23 May 2018 Lawyers for Liberty wishes to congratulate Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun on the peaceful 14th General Election and subsequent handover of power, and his role in ensuring this. We further welcome his recent announcement that he will…

Press Statement On-going politically-motivated cases must be urgently reviewed by the Solicitor-General 21 May 2018 Lawyers for Liberty wishes to remind the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government and the Solicitor-General (who is currently heading the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) pending the appointment of the new AG) of the urgent need to review the numerous politically-motivated cases that…

Press Statement MCMC must unblock all websites previously restricted due to political motivation 17 May 2018 Lawyers for Liberty notes with concern that websites that were previously blocked by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) during the tenure of former Prime Minister Najib Razak for their political content remain blocked today. As in any…

Press Statement Lodging police reports in defence of Dr Mahathir not conducive to democratic change 17 May 2018 Lawyers for Liberty notes with concern the recent increase in police reports being lodged by concerned individuals and pro-government NGOs against offensive statements made on social media targeting the new Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Such police…

Press Statement Immigration travel ban on suspects in criminal probes is justified 16 May 2018 Lawyers for Liberty notes the concern over the overseas travel blacklisting of former Prime Minister Najib Razak, Rosmah Mansor, and other former high-ranking officials of the previous administration by the Immigration Department. The Immigration Department is a law enforcement agency,…

Press Statement The new Attorney-General must be independent of party politics 13 May 2018 Lawyers for Liberty notes the impending appointment of the new Attorney-General (AG) and wishes to remind the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government that the AG must transcend party politics. Although we have pointed out previously that the AG is a political appointee,…

Press Statement Pakatan Harapan’s watershed victory must be followed by institutional and human rights reform 11 May 2018 Lawyers for Liberty wishes to congratulate the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and their Parti Warisan Sabah allies on their historic win in the 14th General Elections on 9 May 2018. With the departure of the Barisan Nasional (BN)…

Press Statement Fake news probe on Mahathir proves public concern over the dangers of the Anti-Fake News Act 2018 3 May 2018 I refer to the fake news probe on Opposition PM candidate Tun Mahathir over his complaint that his flight was sabotaged. The probe upon Mahathir is beyond the scope of the Anti-Fake News…

Press Statement Stop all prosecutions under the Anti-Fake News Act 2018 pending outcome of test case 30 April 2018 I refer to news reports that a Danish man is to be charged today under the Anti-Fake News Act 2018 ( AFN 2018). The legal challenge to the constitutionality and validity of the AFN 2018 is…

Press Statement Tian Chua’s disqualification as Batu candidate is unlawful & outrageous 28 April 2018 I refer to this morning’s disqualification by the EC of Tian Chua, PKR’s candidate for Batu. The returning officer purported to disqualify Tian on grounds of a conviction under s 509 of Penal Code which carried an RM 2000 fine. The…

Press Statement MCMC sending unsolicited message to mobile phone users is an abuse of their power as regulator 26 April 2018 Lawyers for Liberty view with concern the recent SMS blast by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) exhorting Malaysians to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (CMA 1998). As…